LG overtakes Apple in the US handset market

KOREAN HARDWARE MAKER LG has overtaken Apple in the US handset market, regaining the number two spot for the first time in a year.

That's according to statistics from Counterpoint Research, which claims that LG phones accounted for 13 percent of the US handset market in December, one percent more than Apple. Unsurprisingly, Samsung took the number one spot with a 33 percent slice of the market, while Motorola and HTC came fourth and fifth with nine and eight percent, respectively.

It's unclear which of LG's devices spurred the firm into the number two spot, but the company last week announced that its Optimus G smartphone had racked up a healthy one million sales.

An LG spokesperson told Korean website Yonhap News, "Optimus G and our other latest smartphones gained popularity in the North American market."

The Google Nexus 4 made by LG also could have been a contributing factor, but neither firm has announced sales figures yet. However, given that the Nexus 4 has been showing as sold out for quite some time, we're assuming that it has done quite well.

It's not just LG's top-end smartphones that might have pushed it into the second spot. These statistics from Counterpoint Research also take into account sales of feature phones, of which Apple has none.

LG has not yet responded to our request for comment, but it will release its fourth quarter earnings on 30 January. µ